Trend Towards Multiple Authorship in Occupational Medicine Journals
Author Information
Author(s): Shaban Sami, Aw Tar-Ching
Primary Institution: United Arab Emirates University
Hypothesis
Is there a trend towards multiple authorship in occupational medicine journals similar to that in major medical journals?
Conclusion
There is a trend towards multiple authorship in occupational medicine journals, with a direct relationship between higher impact factors and a greater average number of authors per article.
Supporting Evidence
- The average number of authors per article is increasing in occupational medicine journals.
- The percentage of single-author articles is decreasing over time.
- The Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine has a significantly higher slope for authorship increase compared to other journals.
- Occupational Medicine (Oxford) has the highest percentage of single-author articles among the studied journals.
- Impact factors may influence the trend towards multiple authorship.
Takeaway
More and more people are working together to write articles in occupational medicine journals, just like in other big medical journals.
Methodology
Data was collected from PubMed for publications between 1970 and 2007, analyzing single and multiple authorship in selected occupational medicine journals.
Potential Biases
Potential bias due to the focus on journals with higher impact factors.
Limitations
The study only included six journals and may not represent all occupational medicine journals.
Participant Demographics
Occupational medicine journals from various regions, primarily UK and US.
Statistical Information
P-Value
p<0.05
Statistical Significance
p<0.05
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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